Erosion of Will
by Psychedelic Book Fungus
Summary: In an attempt to create the perfect first NerveGear videogame, Kayaba Akihiko recruits the help of a well-known game director. Together the two developers create something more than abhorrent a death game. Follow Kirito on his journey through a game where death is desired, but never given. Welcome to Dark Souls Online, prepare to die.
1. Before

I want to laugh.

I want to cry.

I want to scream.

I want to dive to the floor and pump pushups until I can't move my arms.

I want to run outside and sprint up and down the street until I feel paralyzed from the waist down.

But most of all, I just want Dark Souls Online to finally launch!

I keep myself from looking at the clock. I'm convinced that every time I glance at that devious little device, time slows down a little bit further. Causing this final wait before release to take that much longer. So I absolutely will not look. My determination to look anywhere other than at that clock is only outstripped by my determination to log in the very moment Dark Souls Online is launched.

But, now that I think about it—I've been not-looking for such a long time now... The game is probably about to release! I have to look at the clock. I couldn't bear to miss a single moment of launch day.

12:50 pm

I fall back into my bed with a thump, letting out an irritated groan. It has only been a single minute since I last checked. My original plan was to sleep until an alarm woke me up at twelve forty-five, so that I would be fully rested for a twenty-four hour marathon as soon as the game launched. But sleep was elusive and kept itself from me. Not that the evasiveness of sleep could be at all considered surprising, after all, who could sleep when there was less than an hour until the launch of Dark Souls Online?

I glance at the clock again...

12:50 pm

"Damn it..."

Sleep was a bust, but fortunately my other preparations had gone smoothly. It had taken a bucketload of convincing, begging, and even several extra chores, but I finally convinced my nagging aunt to leave me completely undisturbed for the first twenty-four hours after launch as long as I was careful to maintain my basic necessities. Sword Art Online; like any other game played on a NerveGear console, presents a huge risk to hardcore gamers.

On a normal computer, an overly-dedicated gamer would sometimes drop dead after ignoring their body's needs for long periods of time in an extended raid or some similar event. On any NerveGear game, this risk is magnified ten-fold. The NerveGear gaming console connects directly to the brain using Fulldrive technology. This technology redirects the brain's signals away from the body and transmitts them to an in-game avatar. Similarly, the device also blocks many of the body's signals to the brain, replacing them with artificial signals which mimic the feelings the in-game avatar experiences. Effectively causing your brain to register the five senses of the in-game avatar rather than those of your body, creating the perfect immersion. However, this means that instead of having to ignore countless pains and warnings that you're freaking dying to kick the bucket while playing a video game, a NerveGear player need only to completely lose track of time to end up under a gravestone.

With this in mind, I've prepared. On the floor next to my bed, there are several bottles of water, a few packs of chips, and a small ice chest. The ice chest contains several sandwiches, a few cans of mountain dew, and some vegetables that I grudgingly let my aunt insert.

Reaching down, I fish out a mountain dew and pull myself to a sitting position. Wedging my finger under the tab, I lightly pull the can open with an audible _kasssssssss-clack._ Lightly tipping my head backwards, I take a sip of the overly-caffeinated drink.

"Mmmmm, that really hit the spot!" The tag line was followed by a practiced smile.

I couldn't help but give a small smirk at my inside joke. My friends often wonder how Kirigaya Kazuto; an adopted child of a middle class family, managed to get his hands on not only one of the special edition NerveGear gaming systems, but also an ultra-rare copy of Dark Souls Online. Well, they would have wondered if I _had_ any friends in real life.

Anyway, last summer PepsiCo sponsored a competition for the best homemade mountain dew commercial created at the high school level. The reward was a NerveGear and a copy of Dark Souls Online. Through moderate graphical design skills, limitless determination, and _far_ too much spare time, I managed to scrounge up a commercial capable of winning first prize. The commercial that actually won was only one of the many commercials I created and sent in through secondary accounts. When I'm set on something, the lengths I'm is willing to go to achieve my goal are borderline absurd.

Interestingly, the commercial that won was the only one that actually had me personally acting in it, perhaps one of the female judges found me attractive? Hah, what a joke, implying I actually have appeal to the opposite gender.

I shook my head and gave myself a slight slap to distract myself from that dreary thought. In an attempt to redirect my mental train of thought, I decided to let my mind wander and what a surprise, it wandered to the topic of DSO.

I cannot convey how happy it made me when Kayaba Akihiko announced his partnership with Miyazaki Hidetaka for the creation of DSO. Kayaba Akihiko is a brilliant man, he is almost solely responsible for the creation of the Nerve Gear. But while he may be a brilliant technician and inventor, a game developer he is not. When Kayaba first announced his intentions to create Sword Art Online, there were doubts on his ability to create balanced gameplay and an interesting plot. That's probably why Kayaba decided to bring Miyazaki Hidetaka aboard to create Dark Souls Online.

Miyazaki is the brilliant mind behind the incredibly successful Demon Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborn, Hell's Bells, and all of their many sequels. His games are known for two unique qualities: Difficult, frustrating, incredibly satisfying game play, and beautifully crafted lore hidden within the game. Miyazaki's approach to lore is phenomenal, there are no cut scenes or forced exposition conversations; rather, the lore is hidden within the world. It is found in item descriptions, statues, and individual's stories. These, and many other elements are combined by the player to form their own interpretation of the world before them. I suppose there is one other common characteristic within Miyazaki's worlds, they almost always make you want to cry.

I glance back at the clock...

12:56 pm

As part of my earlier preparations I've already completed the entire setup process. There is only one command to give before I'm ready to dive.

"Begin twitch stream." A slight _ding_ from the NerveGear where it sits on my nightstand signifies that the command has been completed. I don't expect many people will watch me, but I want to make a highlight reel out of the recorded footage.

Bees dance along the lining of my stomach. Lifting my hand before my eyes I notice that it's shaking. I can feel heat and energy flow off the vibrating appendage, and the rest of my body. With these excited hands I softly put the NerveGear on my head. I lay back on a comfortable pillow and try to relax my body. It's finally time. I take a deep breath.

"Link Start!"

A feminine robotic voice replies, "Your selected game has not yet been released. Please try again later."

"Link Start!"

"Your selected game has not yet been released. Please try again later."

"Link Start!"

My world explodes in a barrage of color.


	2. First Moments

I hover weightlessly and without form, my eyes revealing only fog. My body has disappeared, yet I can still feel the wind that passes through me and I'm hypnotized by the drifting patterns of mist. As I try to regain my bearings, a voice resonates from the cloud surrounding me. The voice is old and weary; an aged woman who knows many things.

" _In the beginning the world was calm, doused in fog and stone."_

The mist below me thins, showing an ancient world made of blues and grays. The terrain is rocky and rugged, large fissures rip apart the landscape. Huge portions of land are covered by colossal lakes whose waters rush into the gaping chasms. Great trees are dotted about the terrain, growing upwards like thick pillars into the heavens.

" _The world was ruled by two forms of life; the towering archtrees-"_

The sound of displaced air pulls my attention to a shadow growing within the mists.

" _-and the everlasting dragons."_

An absolutely enormous beast explodes out of the fog beside me. My widened eyes inform me that yes; that is a giant dragon, and yes; it is terrifying. Against my will, my floating form begins to follow the everlasting dragon. The mythical creature flies with great, slow, impactful beats of its heavy wings. It has a solemn and aged disposition, its very being emanates ancient power and demands respect. The beast begins to descend, gliding downwards until it lands at the mouth of a cavern.

" _But then from the depths of the earth came fire. A polarizing force which separated the calm into chaos and order, cut the everlasting dusk into night and day, split an eternal world into death and life."_

The dragon looks into the cave and then walks inside, its footsteps impacting the ground with enough force to make the air shudder. Continuing to follow the dragon, I notice the widening tunnel reveals the first thing that isn't blue or gray. A blazing red fire rages within the cavern. Small black silhouettes can be seen darting amongst the embers.

" _Creatures were drawn to the flames from the dark. They took the power within the fire and used it to overthrow the everlasting dragons."_

A bolt of lighting tore from one of the silhouettes and struck the dragon. The ancient creature shuddered, then broke apart into rubble. I can't help but feel pity for the creature, even if I've only known it for a moment. Then white flares over my eyes, obscuring my vision.

" _With the strength of the flames, these creatures rebuilt the world according to their design."_

When visibility returns, I'm no longer in a cave. I'm soaring above a great city that extends as far as my eyes can see. Great castles bathed in sunlight, golden towers standing proud, brilliant mansions with painted windows, giant statues that look alive, long aqueducts filled with glistening water. My breath is stolen by the beauty and majesty, it is beyond anything I've seen in my lifetime.

" _But with the passing of time, the strength of the flames began to fade, leaving only the dark."_

Before my eyes the sunlight shining on the brilliant city begins to fade. As the light leaves, the city begins to decay. The stone begins the crumble, towers collapse, water overflows from the aqueducts and flood the city.

" _The lord of the city feared the dark, and sacrificed himself to the flames to renew their strength. And it worked, for a time."_

I watch as an old armored being places his hand over a small bonfire, and then bursts into flame with a scream of agony.

" _When the strength of the lord's sacrifice waned, he was replaced."_

After what appears to have been a long fight, an armored man decapitates the old being. The armored man walks to the small bonfire, and then bursts into flame with a scream of agony.

" _When the strength of the replacement's sacrifice waned, he too was replaced."_

The armored man, now scorched and without his wits, is defeated by a robed woman. This new robed woman walks to the small bonfire, and then bursts into flame with a scream of agony.

" _And so the cycle continued, until one day, the crowned immortal appeared."_

" _The crowned immortal slew the sacrifice, but left the world to darkness whilst he remained safe. His sanity protected by his accursed headpiece."_

The silhouette of a man wearing a magnificent crown leaves the cavern.

" _And now, once again, the dark spreads. The unfortunate who are touched by the dark are branded by the accursed darksign."_

The scene once again changes, I now hover over a fleet of ships traveling across storming oceans.

" _Now, in far off lands, the cursed are gathered and sent away. Sent away to find salvation, or fall into insanity far from what little remains of civilization."_

" _This is your fate."_

I take a wheezing breath as my eyes snap open, pulling myself into a sitting position on a bed. That had been quite the ride. When pondering dark souls' aversion to cut scenes earlier, I suppose I forgot about one; the opening cinematic. The traditional Dark Souls cinematic establishes the setting of the game, though usually in an incredibly vague and confusing manner. But lore can wait for later, I'm finally in Dark Souls Online. There isn't a moment to waste!

My gleeful eyes dart about, quickly absorbing their new surroundings. I'm in a bed, but it is not my bed at home that I was in moments before. The bed is more of a shoddy cot hanging from the wall than any proper bunk. The room is cramped and damp, light streams in through slits high on the wall behind me. Across from my shoddy cot there is a wooden door which fits in perfectly with the walls of the room, which are also unpainted wood.

My room jolts and rises slightly, seemingly hovering for a second before falling back to its previous position. A half-second later, the room repeats the motion. Something in the back of my mind categorizes the sensation; waves, I'm in a ship. That mystery solved, I quickly return to analyzing my room.

On a stand next to my cot rests a softly glowing sword, and upon the floor several orange splotches of writing emit a steady light. I greedily snatch the lightly glowing weapon. A pop-up window announces my loot:

 _Rusted Pilgrim's Sword_

I dismiss the notification with a quick tap on the 'close' button. The sword vanishes, I assume into my inventory. I push myself onto my feet, stumble slightly, then move towards the first of the orange messages. The wooden floor creaks beneath me, the smell of the ocean penetrates my nose. The room shifts as another wave brushes the ship's hull, I place my hand upon the wall to steady myself. I clearly don't have a sea legs perk enabled. Beneath my hand I can feel the rough texture of the wall; I run my fingers along the grain of the wood. I start, and pull my hand away from the wall and look incredulously at my ring finger. There, lodged in the tip of the digit is a small splinter. Along with the splinter there is a strange sensation. The feeling is not unlike pain, but it lacks the discomfort. I pull out the wooden shard and flick it away, this world is more realistic than I ever imagined it could be.

Yet simultaneously my immersion is shattered. The heads up display clashes against the otherwise realistic game like a black stain on white cloth. Informational boxes and bars dance perpetually at the corners of my vision. In the top left corner rests a moderately sized octagon. Centered within the octagon is a small black circle, and printed within the circle is the number '00'. The thick area between the outer octagon and inner circle is a faded gray and has several letters written in an almost illegible font. Careful squinting revealed the word to be "apostate", not that I have any idea what it means. To the immediate right of the octagon are three bars stacked atop each other. The top bar is red and clearly denotes my current health. The middle bar is blue and probably represents my "weapon art points", if past experience serves me correctly. Finally, there is the green stamina bar below the other two.

The bottom left corner holds four transparent boxes in a diamond pattern. The right box to show the right-handed weapon, the left box to show the left-handed weapon, the top box for currently selected spell, and bottom box to show currently selected item. Not that I have any weapons, spells, or items equipped yet. The right of my screen is a bit more bearable. The bottom right only holds a small bar which currently reads the number '0'. The top right is completely empty, thank god.

I've played many games with informational HUDs, but nothing could ever prepare me for having a HUD over my eyes. Holy shit it's annoying. Ever worn a pair of sunglasses with the manufacturer label still on the lens? Basically that, but I can't remove the damn label; rubbing it it only irritates my eyes. This is the worst thing.

Time to move on. I stumble across the rocking floor to the first of the glowing messages.

 _Open menu by_ _pinching_ _index finger, middle finger,_ _and_ _thumb_ _at head height,_ _and pulling down._

I mimic a motion shown by a ghostly figure that formed atop the sign and the top right of my vision becomes obscured by a menu. The only place I had still had clear of random informational geometry. This really is annoying.

I quickly skim over the remaining glowing orange signs, which bluntly tell me how to do simple things such as roll, equip weapons, and sprint. I did particularly enjoy the last of those messages.

 _Run with effort to sprint._

I take the sign's advice, and sprint out of my small cabin. Pulling open the wooden door and stumbling into the hallway, I can see several other players swarming out of rooms similar to my own. To my left, a dead end with many more doors. To my right, far down a the corridor there is a staircase illuminated by sunlight. With a grin on my face and my heart in the clouds, I sprint towards this brand new world.


End file.
